


The Last Mistake They'll Ever Make

by writewithurheart



Category: Six of Crows Series - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Leverage AU, M/M, Sort Of
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:34:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,174
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29968533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/writewithurheart/pseuds/writewithurheart
Summary: Outsmarted. Outplayed. Outmaneuvered.Kaz refused to call them defeated because that wasn’t true. They were alive, and a living Kaz was a scheming Kaz.
Relationships: Jesper Fahey/Wylan Van Eck, Kaz Brekker & Jesper Fahey & Inej Ghafa, Kaz Brekker/Inej Ghafa, Matthias Helvar/Nina Zenik
Comments: 1
Kudos: 43





	The Last Mistake They'll Ever Make

Outsmarted. 

Outplayed. 

Outmaneuvered. 

Kaz refused to call them defeated because that wasn’t true. They were alive and a living Kaz was a scheming Kaz. He twists his cane between his gloved hands as he surveys the rest of his crew. Like him, Wylan and Jesper are scratched and bruised, moving stiffly from fresh injuries. Only Inej escaped unharmed, although she’s been quieter than usual since their return to the Nest. She’s the one who got them out, who practically carried Kaz out with amazing strength in relation to her small stature. 

Perhaps the worst part of this whole ordeal is that Kaz saw it coming but only caught it too late. He thought he could handle the double-cross, that he was aware of what Jan Van Eck might pull. He thought he was prepared. Wylan had been skeptical, had warned him that it wasn’t right. What Kaz hadn’t counted on was Van Eck pairing with Pekka Rollins. 

He hadn’t thought the merch would work with a known criminal offender. He really should have seen it coming. Really it only accelerates the plans he already had in regards to Rollins. Kaz meets Inej’s gaze across the bar. 

Just hours ago she had been in mortal danger, captured by their enemy while he threatened to destroy her. For that alone, Kaz would destroy his world. Because Van Eck hadn’t threatened to kill Inej. No. He had done far worse and threatened to destroy her limbs one at a time, had promised to make her useless to Kaz, to break their relationship. 

Inej couldn’t be as unbothered by the encounter as she’s pretending. Jesper is taking out his frustration in his normal loudmouthed ranting style, taking up the whole room with his ire. Kaz moves behind the bar and pours himself a drink. He sips the burning liquor and passes it to Inej. He can’t take the gloves off, not yet, but he lets his gloved fingers brush hers as the glass changes hands. She offers him that soft smile that warms his soul and reminds him of all the good that exists in the universe. 

With a slow, purposeful movement, she reaches up and brushes invisible dirt off his lapel. Her eyes brush over his injured face, as palpable as physical contact. He hears her gaze as a question but shakes his head. He can handle these injuries, handle all his pain so long as she’s here with him. She doesn’t look happy with the tacit response. She presses her palm against his chest over his heart for a moment before turning back to Jesper and Wylan. 

“We’re going to have to run,” Jesper rants. He turns to list off what they need to get out of Ketterdam. 

“We’re not running.” Kaz moves out from behind the bar and spreads out the paper blueprints he’d grabbed on their way out. 

“What.” It’s not a question so much as an incredulous statement from the resident sniper and hitter. Jesper has been with him the longest out of the whole crew, kept in the cycle of crime by his incessant need to gamble. 

“We’re not running,” Kaz repeats. He gestures to the papers as he walks across the bar to let the others take a closer look. “They’re not going to get away with this.” 

“You’ve got a plan,” Wylan says. He’s staring at the designs in fascination, his fingers brushing over the papers and spreading them out. “You knew this was going to happen?” 

Kaz sighs. “No. Suspected.” He grips his cane a bit harder as he contemplates the answer. “I didn’t think he would involve Rollins. Not until it was too late.” He looks up at his crew. “It changes the plan. We’re going to need some help. He knows our faces.” 

“Which means we can’t get close to him, right? That we need to fall back and regroup.” Wylan glances around the room for confirmation. Inej and Jesper are watching him carefully. 

“It means our target has changed. We need to take them both down: The Merchant Council and Pekka Rollins.” Kaz is still working through the plans in his head but he knows its the only option. They can’t just run for the rest of their lives and Kaz refuses to give up. This team can beat them. “We just need a little bit of help.” 

“Are you out of your mind?” 

Kaz stares blankly back at Jesper, hands resting on the head of his cane. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jesper throws his hands in the air and walks away before he comes pacing back. “Please tell me this is some sick joke.” 

“Are you done?” Kaz asks. His eyes shift to Inej perched on the edge of the bar. Her dangling feet swing back and forth. Wylan sits beside her, watching Jesper pace, no longer enraptured by the blueprints spread across the bar in front of him. 

“No. I am certainly not done. You can’t just casually turn around and say ‘ _ we’re going after the Merchant Council and Pekka Rollins’ _ like it’s nothing. You’re talking about going up against the most powerful men in Ketterdam with what? Nothing but our wits? Per Haskell won’t help us. Not when the whole city is after us. We’re burned. We were almost blown to smithereens and you want to keep pushing? They’re going to kill us all.” 

“Come on, Jesper. It’s a gamble. Are you willing to take it?” 

Jesper growls and turns on Kaz, hands outstretched as if he wants to strangle him. It’s a familiar sensation. “You don’t run game on your team, Kaz. You’re putting all of us at risk. We could all die just so you can get a couple million kruge.” 

Inej finally jumps off the bar and lands lightly on her feet. “How are we going to do it? They know our faces. They’ll see us coming from a mile away.” 

“Which is why we need back-up,” Kaz says with a slight smirk at Inej. He loves that she already knows exactly what he’s going to say. He’s still not sure he’s worthy of her trust, but he’s working on it. 

She sighs and slips her hands into her back pockets, that brilliant mind already catching up with what he’s thinking. “Nina won’t like it.” 

“Nina? Who’s Nina?” Wylan finally jumps in. 

“You want to pull more people in?” Jesper throws his hands in the air and paces back to the bar, pouring himself a drink. “Nina is the person you want? Nonsense Nina?” 

“Who’s Nina?” 

Kaz doesn’t bother responding to the inane question. Neither Jesper nor Inej answer. Jesper is looking meaningfully at Inej who just smiles wistfully and turns her grin back to Kaz. 

“God, it’s been forever since I saw Nina.” 

Wylan sighs. “No one’s going to answer me, are they?” 

“Let’s go see a play.” 

* * *

Wylan stares in horror at the stage as a woman absolutely butchers Macbeth. School was always a challenge with his dyslexia, but he adored listening to all the literature he could. This was just painful. Kaz stares forward with the same indifference with which he faces everything. Inej grins widely, enraptured as if the performance was actually good. Jesper just looks bored. 

“He can’t be serious,” Wylan whispers to Jesper, unwilling to let Kaz hear him question this order. If this is Kaz’s plan, then he’s going to fail epically. Jan Van Eck will see acting this bad coming from a mile away. “This has to be a joke.” 

Jesper leans forward. “Kaz doesn’t joke. Nina’s…,” he flails around for words, “she’s better than she looks.” 

Wylan keeps waiting for something to happen, for someone to get better. It’s like watching a trainwreck. He can’t tear his eyes away from the stage. It’s worse than any school production he’s ever seen. Even after a year, every time he thinks he has a good grasp on Kaz, he does something to surprise Wylan. 

The whole play feels like a nightmare, a downward spiral that continues to escalate the tragedy that is community theater: The costumes are bits and pieces that don’t match; the actors call for lines; at one point the entire set is wrong and a crew member runs in with an integral prop halfway through the scene. The final scene cannot come soon enough for Wylan as he desperately wishes for an end to the madness. He hasn’t even processed that it’s over until Inej jumps to her feet, whistling as she claps - the only one in the sad, lost audience. The noise she makes visually startles a couple theater goers who fell asleep and who Wylan would guess are homeless people using the theater as a dry place to sleep. The woman Jesper identified as Nina blows Inej a kiss and bows before slipping backstage. 

None of them move as the rest of the audience walks out, muttering among themselves. The few people Wylan thought might be homeless are bundling up and look reluctant to be heading out into the slightly chilly night air. For so much of his life, the theater was a social event his father used to forge business connections. Wylan’s both surprised they’re here with half the country out looking for them and confused that no one’s mingling in the theater. He’s also lost as to why they had to see the play in order to find this Nina. “Now what?”

“Now we go do the cryptic thing and lurk until she comes out,” Jesper mutters under his breath, leaning closer to Wylan. He shivers at the closeness and glances at his boyfriend who just looks exasperated. “Because Kaz Brekker does not do anything without dramatic flair. We could just go backstage and talk to her in the dressing room, but nooooo…” 

Jesper stands and throws his arm over Wylan’s shoulder to steer him after Kaz and Inej.

He stumbles along with the group as they walk outside. As Jesper predicted, they end up in a dark alley with dramatic lighting. Jesper slouches against a brick wall, keeping Wylan tucked in next to him in that protective way he has. Kaz stops the middle of the alley, both gloved hands resting on the top of his cane. Inej bounces on the balls of her feet a little ahead of both of them, silent as ever. She usually sticks to the shadows, but she’s standing in a beam of light radiating expectant joy. There’s such a cognitive dissonance there that Wylan has to wonder once again who this Nina is. 

After a couple minutes, a red metal door creaks open and a rounded silhouette walks out. He can’t see right away if it’s the same brunette from the stage. She looks around the alley and Inej whistles to get her attention. Nina steps out of shadow and throws her head back laughing joyously. 

“My only fans.” 

Inej runs to Nina and wraps her in a hug, jumping up so she clings to Nina like a baby monkey. Wylan can’t remember ever seeing her so emotional. It’s startling. Nina releases Inej. The Wraith drops to the ground and turns toward the rest of the Dregs. Nina loops her arm through Inej’s as they saunter down the alley together. Wylan sees Inej pass something over that Nina pops into her mouth with another loud laugh. 

Jesper pushes off the wall and shoves his hands into his back pockets. “Zenik. Fancy seeing you here.” 

Wylan wrestles with the sudden surge of jealousy as Nina squeals and draws Jesper into a hug. “Jesper Fahey! How’s my favorite sharpshooter?” 

He chuckles and pulls away. “Oh, you know. Getting by.” 

“And who is this?” She asks as she spies Wylan. Her eyes look almost predatory as they dart back to Jesper. “Don’t think I missed you standing between us. Trying to hide him away?” 

Wylan feels himself flush but steps forward and holds out his hand. “Hi. I’m Wylan.” 

“Aren’t you just precious!” Nina shakes his hand heartily. She’s all bright smiles but Wylan notices the calculating gleam in her eye that he associates with each of the Dregs. “I can already tell he’s too good for you.” 

Wylan doesn’t know how to respond since Nina still has his hand firmly in her grasp. Luckily, Jesper takes the chance to step in, steering Nina away by turning her shoulders to see Kaz. 

“As thrilled I am that you approve,” he says, “you’re forgetting about our impatient and esteemed leader.”

Wylan sees the smile slip from Nina’s face as she catches sight of Kaz. “You’ve got a job for me.” 

“Yes.” 

She crosses her arms and stares him down. Wylan’s only ever seen Inej and Jesper stand up to Kaz like that before. All the rest of the Dregs do their best not to catch his attention. “What’s in it for me?” 

“If everything goes right, then a whole lot of money.” 

“You know what I want, Brekker. What’s this worth to you?” 

Oh, this is definitely more impressive than her acting abilities to Wylan. Although he’s still concerned a bit about the whole acting thing. Maybe she has a different talent that Kaz needs for this job that he still hasn’t explained. It couldn’t be to seduce his father. At least, Wylan really hopes not. He watches Inej look at Kaz meaningfully, one of those secret looks that only they can ever translate.

Jesper sighs and leans into Wylan. “Told you this was going to be trouble.” 

Wylan is still too captivated by this new dynamic. Nina is negotiating with Kaz ‘Dirtyhands’ Brekker like this is an everyday occurrence. 

“I want-” 

“This job involves the Druskelle.” Kaz turns towards the car and starts to walk. 

Wylan blinks in surprise. He glances between Kaz’s back and Nina’s startled face. He doesn’t know enough, but he knows that whatever’s going on, that changes something. Knowing asking questions won’t help, Wylan resigns himself to his fate and follows them along. He’ll find out what’s happening eventually.

* * *

It’s been a while since Nina’s been on a job with Kaz. Guilt has kept her from returning home, but she never intended to be a criminal. She’s a survivor. She stole to survive. And maybe a little because she likes pretty things. And luxury. She likes decadence in all things, including food. She looks around the dive bar that Kaz has dragged them to with curiosity. This is the opposite of decadence.

She frowns as the group parts. Jesper and his boyfriend drift off towards a table in the back. Inej moves to a seat by the door but also cloaked in shadow. Nina frowns as Kaz moves toward the bar and a figure currently slouched over playing with an empty glass. His hair is longer and the facial hair is new, but Nina would recognize Matthias anywhere. She freezes, unsure if she should approach or join Inej at her table. 

“Anyone sitting here?” Kaz’s voice carries across the mostly empty bar. 

The emptiness in his eyes as he looks up at Kaz haunt Nina even from across the bar. He scowls when he spots Kaz and the expression warms something in Nina’s chest. It’s so familiar from every time he got close to catching her. Her chest aches and she wants to go to him. 

“Go away. I’m...wallowing.” 

He sounds miserable. 

“Oh, Matthias,” Nina whispers. 

Kaz ignores Matthias and sits on the stool. “Matthias Helvar, I’m Kaz Brekker. You heard of me?” 

Matthias grabs the drink from the bartender and takes a swig from it without turning again. “Yeah. I know you. Demon of the Barrel. Dirtyhands. You here to kill me, Demjin? Put me out of my misery?” 

“If I wanted to kill you, Helvar, you’d be dead.” 

Matthias’s head moves drunkenly toward Kaz. “Even drunk I’m not that easy to kill.” 

Kaz takes his own cup. “Heard the Druskelle got your brother killed.” 

He slams his drink against the counter. “What the fuck do you know about that?” He stands and rounds on Kaz. 

Nina sees both Inez and Jesper shift. She wouldn’t call it tensing, but she does see the glint of Jesper’s treasured pistol from under the table aimed at Matthias from across the bar. She glances desperately at Inej. “You’re not going to kill him,” she whispers. 

Inej shrugs but doesn’t shift into a more relaxed stance.

“Your brother was sent out to guard precious cargo. The client didn’t disclose how much danger he was in, so he didn’t have the backup he needed. He died in a last stand and the Druskelle refused to admit any wrongdoing. They pinned it on him. Said he was overconfident, that it was his own fault. They murdered your brother and got away with it. How would you like to make them pay?” 

Nina blinks in surprise at the statement. She knew his brother died, but she didn’t know exactly what had happened. When someone as good as Matthias leaves the Druskelle, that information gets out. 

“What do you want?” Matthias growls, but Nina notices that his drink has been put down.

“Your help. We’re going after the Ice Court.” 

Nina blinks and jerks her eyes away from Matthias. They speak in tandem - her to Inej and Matthias to Kaz: “The Ice Court?” 

Kaz nods. 

Inej shrugs. “It’s a ‘kill two birds with one stone’ kind of thing. Or maybe three birds. It’s Kaz.” 

“There’s no way,” Matthias continues, directing the full force of his annoyance to Kaz. “The court has never been breached. It’s the most secure bank in the world for a reason.” 

“And if I told you I could do it?” Kaz asks. 

Nina shifts uncomfortably, unaware that this was the plan. She’s had her fair share of run ins with the Druskelle. If there’s anyone who could do it, it would be Kaz. It really only generates more questions than answers as to what they’re doing here and what Kaz needs her for. She owes him and was always going to help. She’d noticed the team was beat up and guessed that this was definitely important, but on this scale. 

“He’s lost his mind,” Nina whispers in shock. 

“You and what crew?” Matthias asks. 

Kaz gestures at the bar and Matthias finally turns around. He spots Jesper and Wylan first. She can see from the tic in his jaw that he recognizes the sniper and the telltale glint of a gun trained on him. Matthias doesn’t like guns. Or that he didn’t realize they were there, if she had to guess. 

He freezes when his gaze skips over Inej and lands on Nina. Her heart leaps into her throat. Part of her had hoped they would meet again one day. She loved the back and forth they indulged in when he was the one tracking her down to reclaim stolen goods. Despite being on opposite sides of burglary, they always had a connection.

It’s been almost a year since she saw him last. They met in Paris. He’d been a body man for a rich mark. She’d walked off with most of his money and fair chunk of his near priceless art collection. The next time she’d seen him had been in Monte Carlo with a whole new look and back story, but he had recognized her. He kept her on her toes.

Over the years, she’s come close to breaking through the cult-like mindset that had him chasing her, that had him believing her very existence was wrong. He had an ironclad belief that stealing was always wrong, a belief that was immovable. They’d debated it more than once when they ran into each other on a train through Europe. He’d tried to keep her talking so he could catch her red handed. She likes to think that was the trip where she stole his heart.

Matthias stares at her for a prolonged moment before he turned back to Kaz. She remembers a time when he would get soft around her. Now there’s just cold metal in his eyes. It’s funny how grief will do that to you.

“Alright, Brekker. I’m listening.”

* * *

Inej perches on the chair beside Kaz and looks at the maps he has spread over Wylan’s computer screens with various post-it notes placed directly on them. Kaz sits there tapping the head of his cane against the palm of his hand as he considers the blueprints. Inej observes him and then looks back at the screens, listing all the tools she’ll need in a mental tally while knowing that really all she needs are her trusty boots and her blades. She can make do with whatever she finds along the way. 

Although she’s got a climbing rig she’s been wanting to try out which would be perfect for the outside wall. 

“How are our guests?” Kaz asks after several moments, leaning back in his chair. He places his cane on the table and slowly pulls his gloves off. 

“Nina and Matthias are sitting cross from each other, just staring. Jesper made a joke about comparing weapons, pulled out his pistols and Matthias just looked at him and said ‘I’m not fond of guns.’” Inej deepened her voice in mockery of the soldier, sitting up a bit straighter because it felt unjust to do it any other way. She slouches back into her normal stature. “So I got out of there before that got out of hand. If they kill each other, that’s on you.” 

“Jesper won’t kill him.” 

“But Matthias might kill Nina.” Inej hugs one knee to her chest and watches Kaz carefully. “You see it as clearly as I do. He loathes her.” 

“Hate that deep can only be born from love,” Kaz says dismissively. 

Inej snorts. “And what do you know of love?” 

He levels her with an intense look and Inej fights a blush. She turns back to the maps. 

“Don’t start things you can’t finish,” she warns after a moment when she can be sure her voice is steady. She glances back up at him and then pointedly at his gloves. 

Kaz turns in his chair and reaches out. His fingers brush hers and intertwine. She smiles softly at their joined hands. His hands are soft without normal daily callouses. He runs his hand over hers, as fascinated with the contact as she is. Inej watches his face for any signs of discomfort. He’s trying. She knows he’s been seeing a therapist under about a thousand layers of subterfuge so it can’t be tracked. She sees it in the little ways he interacts with the world and knows the good days from the bad based on his need to wear the gloves. 

“I worried this setback with the council might make this worse.” She lifts their joined hands. She’d kiss his bare knuckles if she didn’t worry it would give him a heart attack. 

“It’s never as bad when it’s you,” he confesses on a whisper. “But then, you knew that.” 

She grins and locks eyes with him again. “Maybe I just like to hear you say that.” 

He glares at her, but it doesn’t contain any bite. 

“I noticed you’ve been getting more touchy with Jesper lately. Should I be jealous?” she teases. 

Kaz smirks. “If I tried it with anyone else, they’d have a heart attack.” 

“Jesper’s face was funny the first time he realized what you were doing.” Inej smiles at the memory of Jesper jumping about a foot in the air when he realized he was feeling Kaz’s bare skin. Her smile slips when she feels Kaz’s thumb running over the inside of her wrist. She holds her breath so she doesn’t gasp. He’s staring at her hand in awe, tracing scars she never notices any more from her years of acrobat training. 

“Why are we talking about Jesper?” 

“Because,” she says slowly, “until you’re ready to take the next steps, we can’t keep having these moments without something to break the tension.” 

Kaz groans and falls back against his chair, although he doesn’t drop their hands. “I want to be ready.” 

She shouldn’t laugh at his internal turmoil. Inej is aware of that but she’s also certain he can read her amusement in her eyes. She lifts their hands slowly, telegraphing her movement as she gives in to the desire to kiss his knuckles. He swallows thickly but doesn’t pull away. His eyes dark and his breathing a little shallow. 

His jaw clenches. “I will conquer this.” 

Inej squeezes his hand and then releases it. “I know you will.” She turns her attention back to the blueprints. “So, have we got a plan?” 

“More than one,” Kaz admits. He stands and starts pointing out various routes. She notes that he doesn’t put his gloves back on and that he doesn’t shy away when she leans over and starts to point out her own observations. 

They don’t touch again, only shifting air in the millimeters between them as they plot the downfall of their enemies.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! This was my first attempt at writing in the Grishaverse, and maybe a Leverage-ish AU is a little on the nose, but I wanted to give it a try before the show comes out on Netflix. Let me know what you think! 
> 
> You can also find me on tumblr [here](https://writewithurheart.tumblr.com/). I'd love to hear from you!


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